The movies of The Lord of the Rings by director Peter Jackson have enjoyed great popularity since their release. This also applies to the Extended Cuts, which are the longer versions. Jackson has now commented on rumors of an even more extensive version.
No matter if as a book or in the film adaptation – The Lord of the Rings is an epic. The story takes some time due to the numerous characters, locations, and plot lines.
As is often the case, there are also different versions of The Lord of the Rings. On one hand, the theatrical version, which lasts about 558 minutes across all three films. On the other hand, the so-called Extended Cuts, which are more detailed versions that last a total of 683 minutes, over 11 hours.
But that is still not enough for many fans. For years, there have been rumors about another cut, the so-called “Mithril Cut”.
Peter Jackson responds to the rumors
What is the Mithril Cut? In short: a longer version of The Lord of the Rings, basically an Extended-Extended-Cut. Fans believe there are more secret scenes that were never released but would add further content to the film universe.
The name “Mithril” refers to a valuable metal that is very rare and resistant. Frodo receives a shirt made from this material in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which saves him from the otherwise deadly blade of the Witch King of Angmar.
Does the Mithril Cut really exist? As is often the case with such rumors, they seem to become more real the longer they exist. But now someone who should know has responded: Peter Jackson, the director of the trilogy.
In a conversation with Empire, he must disappoint the fans. The Mithril Cut never existed and does not exist. He elaborates:
Are there great scenes that we never used? The answer is no. There are a few little things here and there, I think. But if one were to release an Extended-Extended-Cut version or whatever you want to call it, it would be disappointing. It would be an Extended Cut version with a few extra seconds here and there; it wouldn’t be worth making.
Peter Jackson
The rumors have arisen because in the past, individual scenes were mentioned that never appear in the film. For example, one where you get to see a young Aragorn. As it turns out, those were just fragments of scenes that would offer little added value.
So no new material for the fans? While Peter Jackson disappoints all those who were waiting for the Mithril Cut, he raises hopes for a possible documentary about The Lord of the Rings.
According to the director, in addition to the already very detailed making-ofs (available on the DVDs and Blu-rays), there are still more alternative scenes and bloopers. All of this could be combined in a future, long documentary. But when and if that will really happen is left open by Jackson. Until then, we can continue to enjoy the high quality of the actual films: The Lord of the Rings trilogy still looks fantastic after 2 decades; we owe that to a technology that is over 113 years old
So no new material for the fans? While Peter Jackson disappoints all those who were waiting for the Mithril Cut, he raises hopes for a possible documentary about The Lord of the Rings.
According to the director, in addition to the already very detailed making-ofs (available on the DVDs and Blu-rays), there are still more alternative scenes and bloopers. All of this could be combined in a future, long documentary. But when and if that will really happen is left open by Jackson. Until then, we can continue to enjoy the high quality of the actual films: The Lord of the Rings trilogy still looks fantastic after 2 decades; we owe that to a technology that is over 113 years old
